


Life of a Spartan

by KassandraOfSparta (jaimelannisterisanerd)



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types, Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Genre: A lot of the characters will turn up eventually, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-22 17:28:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16602413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaimelannisterisanerd/pseuds/KassandraOfSparta
Summary: An ongoing series of oneshots dedicated to Kassandra/Brasidas, because I love them. There will be spoilers for various points in the game. The game apparently takes place over a 9 year period but i took the liberty of making it so it happens in only a two or so year period for this fanfics.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **They will contain spoilers for various parts of the Assassin's Creed Odyssey game, as well as some changes to the canon by me because who needs to believe what happened in the game right?**

Kassandra was very well aware of a set of eyes on her as she stood on the docks at Gytheion, leaning up against one of the posts on the dock and staring out at the sea in front of her. The occasional shark fin rose above the surface of the water, tail splashing around before going beneath the surface again, sometimes dolphins broke the surface of the water too. In her time at sea, and through stories from sailors and fishermen, Kassandra had come to notice that the dolphins seemed to ward of the sharks, something that seemed very odd when the sharks were the more fearsome of the predators. She had watched the fishermen throw discarded fish scraps over the sides of boats, attracting sharks, and then dolphins, which had caused the sharks to scatter quickly. It was something that she loved to watch, a respite from all the manic action of the past months.

“Waiting for something?”

She smiled when she heard a familiar voice, knowing who had been watching her, glancing over her shoulder and seeing Brasidas wandering down the dock towards her.

“Just watching”

Kassandra turned back to look at the sea, Ikaros coming to perch on the post above her head, a fish in his talons. Brasidas came to stand next to her, looking over at the sea as well. She glanced at him, he was out of his usual armour, wearing something lighter now that the war was over and the threats all but passed for now. The scar on his neck and shoulder were somewhat visible, part of the wound still healing from where her brother had thrust the spear through his shoulder some months before.

“You come down here often”

“I like to watch the sea, I like the sound of the sea” Kassandra nodded, looking back at it and smiling slightly when a baby dolphin flopped out of the water with such inelegance that it made her laugh. She missed the way that Brasidas looked at her when she made the noise, a soft smile on his face. “You know, the dolphins chase the sharks away from the fishermen’s boats”

Brasidas raised an eyebrow and looked towards the far end of the dock where the boats were gathered after the afternoon’s fishing, the occasional shark fin surfacing some way away, but between the boats and the sharks the dolphins were frolicking and playing in the waves, perhaps waiting for scraps.

“Perhaps you should stop being a mercenary and start studying the animals of the sea”

Kassandra rolled her eyes at his teasing, catching the smirk on his face as he glanced at her and then down to the water again.

“Sharks aren’t that dangerous of creatures” she decided to play at his game, he wanted to tease her and now he would not get away with it “I have been in the water with many a shark before during my dives, they do not attack me at all, in fact they keep their distance. They come to the ships we sunk when there was blood in the water only”

“Or perhaps you are really the daughter of Posseidon and the sharks leave you be out of respect for the god who commands them”

Kassandra laughed at his words, seeing a wry grin on Brasidas’ face as well, Ikaros letting out a squawk of surprise and dropping his fish onto the dock. He fluttered down to pick it up again, hopping over to sit on one of the fishing pots instead with his back to them.

“I am no daughter of Posseidon”

“Zeus then”

She shook her head, her mind going back to the first meeting with the man who had got her mater pregnant. Long hours of contemplation had become the normal thing for her after her visits to the volcano and Pythagoras, sometimes she wished that she hadn’t thought too much about it.

“I met my..the man who got my mother pregnant” Kassandra spoke after a short silence, she could trust the man next to her, she knew that, there was something between them that neither of them had spoken about and something she was scared to think of. “When I found out that Nikolaos was not my father I was excited and worried about finding out who was. Mater told me where to find him but she told me little else, but when I found him I…” she trailed off, her eyes locked onto the sea and her heart jumping excitedly when she saw a great whale breech the surface of the water. Such a wonder that the gods had gifted them.

“You…” Brasidas urged her after a few more seconds of just the sound of the waves and the sea birds between them, plus Ikraos’ occasional squeak.

“I was just a tool to him, the means to keeping his bloodline going. He scorned my mother for having loved me”

“Then he did not understand the what an honor it was to have you, he should have tried harder” Brasidas told her, moving to lean against the post opposite her so he too could look out over the sea that had her attention so much. This remarkable woman who had come through so much and yet was still able to find the good in the world. It had been an honor to fight alongside Kassandra from the moment that they had met, they worked so well together Brasidas thought and there was always a pride in him when people looked astonished that he knew the Eagle Bearer as much as he did.

“He still lives in the isolation of his own making, while I am here with my family”

Kassandra turned her head to look at the man who meant so much to her, she had not had friends growing up, and yet since having left Kephallonia she had acquired many people who she would call friend, and then she had found her family again which was more than she could ever have prayed to the gods for.

“How is that going?”

“I mean Alexios is much better, he keeps telling me that he wishes to speak to you about this” she motioned to his shoulder as she spoke and Brasidas hummed and nodded “If he had wanted to kill you then he would have done, quite easily, great warrior you are or not”

“Ah, a compliment from the Eagle Bearer, I shall treasure it”

“You ass” Kassandra laughed and the man opposite her smirked, the action making her belly clench in a way that she didn’t really like to think about all that much.”I should have left you on the battlefield”

“Did you not leave me to go after..”

“I came back didn’t I?” she interrupted him with a huff, she had thought him dead until she had seen some of his men around him trying to get the spear out of his shoulder. Idiots would have killed him if they had managed and she hadn’t got there in time to stop them from wrenching it out. The man may never be able to properly hold a sword or shield again but at least he was alive. “Many Spartan men would have rather died than be told that they cannot fight again”

Brasidas was quiet for a while, and Kassandra wondered if she had said the wrong thing. She watched though as he pushed away from the post he had been leaning against and moved towards her, placing one hand behind her on the post she was up against and brushing their lips together. Where that had come from she didn’t know but Kassandra was not about to question it, her hands moving to his shoulders to hold them, one making it’s way up to his hair as they continued to kiss. Brasidas moved away slightly though, her hands staying where they were to keep him there.

“Those men did not have the thought of you to keep them alive”

“Brasidas..”

“You have consumed my thoughts since I saved you from that barn..”

“I saved you”

“No I saved you from that fire that you started”

“For a reason actually so you can..”

Kassandra was cut off by his lips again, her grip tightening in his hair when she kissed him back for a few seconds, breaking the kiss and shaking her head.

“You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met”

“And here I was thinking that you were going to tell me how I have consumed your thoughts since we met, Brasidas” she smirked at him, playing with his hair and humming softly “I don’t need your words of endearment as much as you think that you need to say that, there is something between us I have felt it but we were at war and things were complicated”

“And now?”

“And now things are still complicated but we aren’t at war”

“I can take that” Brasidas nodded and smiled, looking up when Ikaros peeped and landed on Kassandra’s head, leaning down between them to stare at the man. “Are you sure that he was not sent by Zeus?”

“Very sure” Kassandra laughed, reaching up to stroke her bird’s head and earning a happy chirp for her troubles “Silly bird”

“I’m not here to take your place you know” Brasidas addressed the bird with a laugh, holding his hand out towards him and watching as Ikaros hesitated before leaning forward and nibbling gently at his fingers, making the man not doubt for one second that the bird could take the fingers if he was in the mind to do so. Ikaros then spread his wings and flew off towards the fishing boats, no doubt going to look for more scraps. “I feel better knowing I have the permission of your eagle, Eagle Bearer”

Kassandra scoffed as he kissed her once more, playing with his braid before she murmured against his lips.

“He just knows it’s once more person to steal food from”

“I can handle that”


	2. Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kassandra and Brasidas lay in bed discussing some of their plethora of scars

“What about this one?”

Kassandra looked down when she felt Brasidas tracing his fingers over another one of her scars, both of them laying in bed naked, having been in bed since just after the sun had reached the highest point in the sky, and now the sky was just getting dark. She hummed and touched the scar as well, three jagged ones to the side of her stomach.

“Lynx”

“Lynx?”

“You know, the angry furry cat that lives in the…”

“I know what a damn Lynx is, woman” Brasidas interrupted her with a roll of his eyes as Kassandra smirked at him cheekily “I thought they were shy creatures”

Kassandra scoffed at his words, stroking his beard as she did so.

“Some of them are, some however are willing to risk jumping on you to make a point even though you haven’t done anything to them” Kassandra huffed, she had made a nice bit of drachmae for the pelt of the animal “I was just walking through the forest collecting wood for my arrows and the thing came out of nowhere and attacked me”

“Uh huh”

“You don’t believe me”

“What I do believe Kassandra, is that you have a habit and skill of antagonising people and animals with merely your presence”

“You malakas”

Brasidas laughed and kisses her neck and shoulder as she smacked his head.

“Do you want to hear the story?”

“By all means”

“The thing attacked me from out of nowhere and managed to get it’s claws through my armor..”

“Not very good armor from the sound of it”

“It managed to get it’s claws through my armor” Kassandra continued pointedly, shaking her head in amusement and tutting “Got them in deep as well”

“It looks like it” Brasidas nodded, running his thumb over the scars again and leaning down to brush his lips against them, a smile crossing his face when he felt Kassandra shiver slightly. “What happened to the Lynx?”

“Sold it to a local man who wanted it’s fur to line the basket that his newborn was going to sleep in” Kassandra hummed, still playing with her lover’s beard as she spoke, watching as Brasidas ran his fingers over another scar just below her ribs “An arrow from a mercenary”

She saw Brasidas frown at her, fingers running over the rough jagged scar that he had been touching.

“Brasidas…”

“An arrow to your ribcage Kassandra? You could have been killed”

“I know, I know. It was a stupid mistake” Kassandra nodded, moving her hand to his cheek as she kissed him on the lips, trying to calm him down “I thought it would be an easy kill but it turns out that they were quicker than me and I almost paid for it. I learned from that”

“And one day you might not learn from it because it will kill you”

“Brasidas you know as well as I do that one day we could both leave home and not come back” Kassandra told him, annoyance lacing her voice as she put her hand on the large scar on his shoulder, knowing that there was an equally big one on the other side where the spear that Alexios had used had gone straight through. Months it had taken for Brasidas to recover, even with Hippoktrates being paid to stay and make sure he was given the best of care possible it had been a long time before Kassandra had been able to relax each day knowing that the next morning he would still be alive.

“The chances of me going into a fight anymore are next to none, Kassandra, you know that”

Kassandra did, and she knew that it had made him feel like less of a man and less of a Spartan because of it, the most decorated and distinguished Officer in the Spartan army or not. Now though parents were clamouring over themselves to get their children into the school that he ran, they wanted their children to be trained by him when they came of age and the children under his command looked at him as though they were looking at a hero. Kassandra smiled slightly, perhaps they were.

“Every time you leave here for your trips and your contracts I find myself praying to the gods more and more to bring you home safely to me. I know I can’t stop you from what you do, I would never try to” Brasidas told her, moving his hand up to rest gently on the scar from the arrow “One day I know that you are going to be brought home to me under a sheet but there is part of me that is coming to terms with that because I know it will be because you tried to help someone in need”

Kassandra swallowed heavily, resting their heads together and playing with the braid at the back of his head, this was all so new to her that she never thought that there would be anyone to come home to. It had always just been herself and her little house in Kephallonia, no-one had really cared for her that much and her lovers had been one or two nights of pleasure and that was it. Now she had this man to come home to, her family as well.

There was a bit more silence before Brasidas ran his fingers over a scar on her arm, making Kassandra chuckle softly at the memory of that one.

“A knife?”

“No I…” she cleared her throat, wondering if she should just make something up to save her embarrassment “I got drunk one day and was dared to climb onto the roof of one of the houses, I slipped and…”

Brasidas’ laugh cut her off and she sighed loudly, rolling her eyes as her lover continued to laugh until she saw tears running down his cheeks.

“Yes yes, you just laugh at me” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for Brasidas to stop laughing. It made her lips twitch though, it was so nice to see him so happy and carefree, even if it was at her expense.

Once he was done laughing, Kassandra kissed him on the lips and pushed him onto his back, Brasidas’ hands moving down to her hips as he kissed her back firmly.

“You’re an ass”

“You love me”

“That I do” Kassandra nodded, settling next to him again and trailing her fingers lightly over a long scar on his stomach “What was this?”

“Training accident when I was a young man. I was teaching some of the newer men in the party how to parry properly and one of them decided that he would get cocky, ended up with this” he motioned to the scar, smiling when Kassandra leaned down to kiss it “This one” he showed her a jagged one on his arm, running from just above his elbow and all the way down to his wrist “Lion cub. Well, I say cub, it was bigger than your average dog”

“A much worthier animal than a Lynx?” Kassandra teased him and he chuckled and nudged her side, letting his lover run her fingers over his arm to feel the scar “What were you doing near a lion cub? Do you not know how fearsome mother lions are?”

“It was in a cage, poachers I think. I thought it was injured or too weak to move, and I put my arm through the bars to see if I could grab it by the scruff to keep it in place while my men opened the front of the cage”

“And it wasn’t?”

“Not at all, I have never seen a creature move so quickly. I am just glad that it was a relatively small creature, but the power in that animal and the intelligence in it’s eyes when it looked at me gave me a whole new respect for them”

Kassandra smiled down at him as she propped her self up on her hand, her other going to his cheek to stroke it before kissing him gently once more, his hand moving to her hip. A laugh broke free from her when Kassandra heard Brasidas’ belly grumble loudly, moving her hand down to pat it.

“I’m getting hungry too, come, I’m sure mater has something left next door”

“Will you tell me more embarrassing stories later on?”

“If you’re good”


	3. Beach Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brasidas finds Kassandra relaxing on the beach just watching the animals.

There hadn’t been many times in Kassandra’s life where she had been able to just sit and relax without the worry of angry mercenaries or people trying to give her payback or then the Cult and it’s members being at her back at all times of the day or night. The war was over though, the Cult was destroyed, her family was back together again albeit that still feeling odd. Walking into the house in the middle of Sparta and seeing her mater sitting with her brother at the table, or seeing her adopted brother speaking to Nikolaos still made her pause for a few seconds despite having been that way for some time. Things had come so far in the time since the war had ended, and it was everything that Kassandra had dreamed of when she was growing up on Kephallonia.

“I thought I might find you here”

Of course she had heard the footsteps coming up behind her, but she knew exactly who they belonged to so her sword and spear had stayed where they were on the sand next to her. Kassandra glanced to her side when Brasidas lowered himself to sit next to her and gave him a smile, moving her hand to entwine with his on his leg.

“It feels odd, walking into a house and finding family there”

Brasidas nodded at her words, looking out over at the sea as the waves lapped at the sand in front of them, the sky darkening as the sun set.

“It has been months and yet I still have to pause whenever I enter mater’s house and I see her speaking to Nikolaos, or to Stentor, or especially to Alexios. I have to take a little while when I see mater and Alexios laughing together, or when I see Alexios and Stentor get into one of their arguments”

She trailed off and squeezed Brasidas’ fingers, her lover stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. Kassandra felt blessed to have a lover who knew her so well, he understood when she needed to be on her own, or to get away from things, he didn’t try and stop her when she left for a few days to spend time on her own or to pick up the occasional contract from the board that she had been passing by.

“Was it everything that you hoped it would be? Your family”

Kassandra nodded quickly, her eyes moving to the sea again when she saw the distant outline of a whale breaching the surface of the water, before diving down into the depths again, rising a few seconds later to swim at the surface again. This was the place that she loved to come and sit to get away from things, a place that she and Brasidas could share together that they could come and sit and just be together. A soft peep brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up in time to see Ikaros fly over and settle on her knee, stretching his wings and then settling down again.

“Ah, my handsome boy”

“Is that not me?”

“Ikaros is far more handsome than you”

Kassandra shot Brasidas a smirk as she stroked Ikaros’ head, the eagle squeaking and leaning into her touch as he settled down on her leg.

“I shall have to settle for second best I suppose”

The Spartan woman smiled, leaning over to kiss Brasidas softly, moving one hand to his cheek to stroke it at the same time. These were the moments that Kassandra loved, her life had been so full of danger and travelling that she hadn’t had time to just sit and exist, especially with someone that she loved this fully and whole heartedly. It felt as though the gods had meant for this to happen, she had to fight and earn all of this, and they had blessed her at the end of all her trials.

“You are thinking deeply again”

Kassandra smiled when Brasidas kissed her more firmly this time, Ikaros squawking in annoyance as he was dislodged from his perch slightly and he flew off to sit on the verge just above them, preening his feathers in annoyance. The two of them laughed at his display, Kassandra resting her head on Brasidas’ when they both looked up at the bird.

“He’s like the grumpy son we’ve not got” she whispered to her lover, kissing his jawline as Brasidas laughed and nodded, putting his hands either side of her on the sand and kissing her neck with teasing little touches that had her gripping his hair for more.

“Yet”

“Oh?” Kassandra laughed, moving to lay on the sand with Brasidas hovering over her, kneeling between her legs as he looked down at the powerful woman beneath him “Are we going to have a son?”

“Many sons, and many daughters”

Kassandra snorted at him, reaching up to drape her hands over his shoulders to play with his hair, this wasn’t the first time that the subject had been brought up, they usually made casual jokes about the subject of children as though both of them were worried about actually talking seriously about it. Perhaps they both were. Their lives before this moment had definitely not even held a second for thoughts of children.

“You mean that”

“I do”

Brasidas nodded as he spoke and Kassandra hummed, playing with his braid as she thought about it for a few seconds. She had never imagined she would have children, she never really wanted to be married or have a group of little ones but that was before everything that had happened, and family meant everything to her. Kassandra wiggled on the sand slightly as Brasidas kissed her shoulder and her neck again, and she felt him smile against her skin, tugging on his braid.

“You are trying to distract me from my thoughts”

“Perhaps I am, what are you going to do about…”

She didn’t let him finish, using her strength to quickly roll them over so that he was on his back on the sand, planting her knees either side of his hips and putting her hands above his head to keep herself steady. Grinning down at him, her heart racing slightly, she laughed at her lover when his hands moved to her hips to grip them slightly. Without another word Kassandra kissed him once more, more firmly than their other kisses this time, allowing his hands to move to the buckle of her belt.


	4. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kassandra returns from a contract and goes to visit Brasidas while he's training some little Spartans.

Kassandra smiled softly as she stood watching Brasidas with the five children in front of him, kneeling down in front of them and instantly getting their attention. He didn’t know he was there and neither did the children, so she just stood and watched as he spoke to them about something that he couldn’t hear, motioning to the trees near them and then to the children themselves. He then waved his hands to obviously dismiss them and one of the children turn and spotted her.

“It’s the Eagle Bearer!”

The children all looked over quickly to where she was and Kassandra smiled, pushing away from the rock she had been leaning up against and making her way over to the group, catching Brasidas’ smile at her.

“Do you have stories for us?”

“Perhaps tomorrow” Kassandra told the children, seeing the looks of disappointment on their faces and the quiet ‘aws’ that came from them “Do well in your training tomorrow and I shall tell you how I defeated the Minotaur” she nodded, grinning when their eyes lit up and they all nodded and began to chase each other back towards the town “Do you want a story too?” she then asked Brasidas, laughing as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Oh yes, tell me the one about the brave misthios who saved a country from a corrupt group of people” he whispered against her lips as he kissed her, Kassandra laughing and rolling her eyes when Brasidas smirked.

“Are you not bored of that one, I seem to remember that you had a part in that story”

Brasidas just chuckled, pulling her closer to him and kissing her again, they had been parted for a little while when Kassandra had left to take a bounty but he knew they couldn’t get carried away in a place like this. Kassandra looped her arms around his neck, playing with her lover’s braid while she kissed him again, loving being back in his arms.

“The children love you”

“So they should” she responded, smirking against his lips and it was Brasidas’ turn to roll his eyes at the sky, muttering under his breath about self assured misthios’ and Zeus saving him. “They must do if they want to hear the same stories over and over every time they see me, do they not get bored listening to me tell them about Minotaurs and Cyclopses?”

“It gives them confidence, they speak all the time of wanting to train to become a good fighter like you so they can save people”

That made Kassandra smile sincerely, her heart jumping in her chest at how serious Brasidas was, she enjoyed teaching the children to fight too, to track animals, how to use the world around them to survive. She joined in the lessons only occasionally though, as a special treat for them, when she wasn’t about helping in the city or away on the occasional job.

“The money is good as well”

“Once a misthios…”

Brasidas shook his head in amusement, stroking Kassandra’s back and pressing their lips together again, he had missed her a lot in their time apart.

“Perhaps not for much longer”

“What does that mean?”

Kassandra shrugged and moved away from him, wandering around and picking up the discarded training swords and shields the children had been using.

“The children not knowing to put their weapons back when they are done with them?” she turned and aimed the wooden sword at her lover, her lips twitching up again as he rolled his eyes “Bad habits are hard to break when they grow up, Brasidas”

“You are changing the subject, my love”

“Imagine the embarrassment when they are older and they leave their real swords all over the place and their commanders learn that it was you who was…”

Kassandra was cut off by Brasidas striding forward and grabbing the wooden sword from her hand, throwing it to the floor and pushing her up against the tree behind her, their lips connecting. She moved her hands to his shoulders, one staying there and the other going to bury in his hair to keep him exactly where he was as she kissed him back just as firmly. It had been so long without his touch and his kisses and she ached for him now. She had ached for home when she had been away.

They stayed like that for a few more seconds before Kassandra gently pushed him away a little bit, catching her breath and letting out a quiet laugh.

“I missed you too”

She ran her fingers over the scar that was visible above the armour he had on, the rest of the scar from the spear that Alexios had used on him during the battle was under the armour and caused him pain still some days, but less and less as the time went on. It had been his choice to move to teaching the children, the next generation of Spartan warriors who would be there to protect their people in the years to come.

“There is something on your mind”

Brasidas’ words broke through her thoughts and Kassandra looked at his face, seeing an expectant look there as he waited for her to answer him. A sigh fell from her lips and her arms dropped to her sides, Brasidas taking a step back to let her move when she made the motion to move from the tree.

Kassandra paced for a while, picking up the discarded training equipment and putting them in the stands in their rightful place, grateful for Brasidas to not keep pushing her until she spoke again.

“That night on the beach when you joked about having children”

“It wasn’t a joke”

Kassandra ignored him and continued to speak as though he hadn’t.

“That night, Aphrodite must have heard our conversation”

This time she did pause, waiting for Brasidas to say something, when he just shrugged at her and motioned for her to continue did she do so, shaking her head and laughing softly.

“You said that we will have many sons and daughters”

“I did, and I want that”

Kassandra’s lips turned up into a small smile when she heard that, putting the last training sword in the wrack before turning to look at her lover again. She had needed that confirmation from him for a while now, having been avoiding thinking about it too much while she had been away.

“Why do you speak like this now you’ve come home? Talking about not being a misthios any longer and…”

“I’m pregnant”

Kassandra watched as Brasidas’ words died in his throat, her heart jumping to hers as her mind went to all the bad scenarios that she had run through her mind since finding out herself. They were not married, there was no reason for him to stay with her if he didn’t…She hadn’t noticed him move towards her until his lips were on hers, a noise of surprise coming from her before her arms looped around his shoulders, kissing him back as her stomach clenched. That was a good sign, she hoped. Brasidas broke the kiss though and placed his hands on her cheeks, then moved them down to her shoulders and ran his hands down her arms until he could entwine their fingers together.

“Is this what you want?”

“It’s too late now”

“It’s not, not if it’s not what you want, there are people, doctors and women who could..”

Kassandra moved her hand to put it over his mouth, muffling the rest of his words and silencing him mid sentence. She had thought about it in the days since she had found out, it had been no easy thought process to go through.

“I grew up into a misthios because it was the only path I could see for me, I had no other hopes in my life, my family was gone and all I had was my sword and my spear. I never thought that I would be allowed to lower my guard enough to fall in love, let alone have a family, find my family even” she told him, lowering her hand so she could put it on his shoulder, playing with his braid as she shook her head “I’ve known for a little while, since before I took that job, I just had to think things through and clear my head before I told you. Had I realised I didn’t want this then I would have done something about it before I returned and not told you, I know it would break your heart to be told that you could be a father and then have it taken from you”

Kassandra heard Brasidas sigh, smiling slightly as he moved his hands to take hers in them and kiss her knuckles softly.

“It would break my heart more to see you unhappy”

“But I am not unhappy” Kassandra assured him, her smile growing as she pulled him close and kissed him, running her fingers through his hair and curling his braid around her fingers “I am happier than I have ever been and I am allowed that, I see it now. I have done my trials, my trials are over, I have my rewards because my family is all here and together again and now I can settle and just be what I want to be”

Brasidas’ face broke out into a grin and he scooped his lover up into his arms, Kassandra laughing as she wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him again as he pressed her up against a tree.

“As I recall” she murmured through kisses “This is how this started in the first place”

“It could have happened right here” Brasidas grinned smugly, Kassandra pushing his shoulder and shushing him, putting her hand on his mouth again and moving so she was standing on the ground again. She moved away just as the next group of children came into view, all chatting to each other and chasing their friends towards the training grounds.

A sigh slipped from Brasidas’ mouth and his lover smiled at him, gripping his shoulder and stepping past him.

“For now, other people’s children need you”

“For now”


	5. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kassandra brings home Khloe from Lokris to live with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where is my button to adopt all these children with sad stories, Ubisoft hmm? I imagine Kassandra and Brasidas taking in a few of the little ones that Kassandra has helped on her travels.

Kassandra was so happy to be on dry land again, this voyage hadn’t been as long as some of the ones she had been on but the seas had been rough as they usually were at this time of the year. She thanked her crew as she made her way across the deck of the ship to the command area, hopping up the steps and gripping Barnabas’ arm as she walked past.

“A good trip, Barnabas”

“Well for me, you spent the time leaning over the side of the ship, you saw more of the sea than you did the ship”

Kassandra swore at him under her breath and shook her head, earning a smirk from her good friend in return. He was lucky that she liked him so much. He left down the steps to speak to the crew as well, leaving Kassandra to go and sit next to the little girl who had been sitting on the seats for the last little bit of the journey, a horse carved of wood that Barnabas had made her on the journey clutched in her hands.

“We’re here, Khloe”

The girl looked up at her and smiled, nodding as she looked out over the dock that they had just docked in, swinging her legs against the chair.

“It will be nice to feel ground under our feet again” Kassandra continued, stroking Khloe’s hair and then standing up again, holding out her hand for the little girl to take “Come, it’s a bit of a horse ride to the city”

Kassandra carefully left the boat with Khloe sticking close to her, the little one barely reached her hip and Kassandra was sure that she hadn’t eaten properly in so long. They’d eaten some meals on the ship, but now they were home they could properly feed the girl. She looked up when she heard Ikaros’ cry, chuckling when he went and landed on Phobos’ head, the horse waiting patiently by the entrance of the docks. If Ikaros was apparently sent by the gods, then Phobos must have been, such an intelligent creature that he was and with an otherworldly knack of being there at the right place at the right time.

“He’s big”

She looked down at Khloe’s voice, seeing the girl hiding behind her legs slightly and looking up at Phobos fearfully.

“Oh he’s not scary, hold you hand up and see if he’ll greet you”

Khloe shook her head quickly and Kassandra chuckled, crouching down in front of her and nodding.

“We’re going to be riding him back to the city, so it would be better if you greeted him and let him get to know you. I’m here with you, he won’t hurt you I promise”

Khloe hesitated before nodding a little bit and holding up her little hand towards the horse. Kassandra stood up and stroked Phobos’ neck, the horse sniffing and leaning down to see what this small human was doing with her hand, sniffing it closely and then nudging her hand with his nose.

“See, harmless” Kassandra smiled at the girl who grinned and nodded, patting Phobos’ head and nose as he leaned down even more to sniff at her pockets “She doesn’t have any food on her you lump, you’ve no doubt been spoiled while I’ve been away anyway hmm?”

Kassandra let the two get to know each other a little bit longer before picking Khloe up and putting her on Phobos’ saddle, climbing up behind her and making sure that they were both comfortable before turning the horse around in the direction of the city. Ikaros stayed on the horse’s head, preening his feathers instead.

“Lazy bird”

Khloe giggled at Kassandra’s words, and the woman was glad that the little girl could still find some joy in her life after all that she had been through in her short time. She wouldn’t have to worry any longer though, she would be safe and happy from now on and would want for nothing.

“You can learn to ride a horse as well if you like”

“A big one? On my own?”

“We’ll start you with a smaller horse, and there will be someone with you” Kassandra assured her, remembering how she had gone horse riding with her mater from a very young age, it had been expected of her coming from the family that she did. Sometimes she wondered what her life would have been like had all the events of her childhood not happened, but she couldn’t imagine it. She was distracted from her thoughts by Khloe’s questions as they rode along, answering them the best she could, the little girl had been so quiet in the first few days since Kassandra had given her the option of coming with her to live, but she had started to open up once she got more comfortable. Kassandra was glad, no girl her age should be living alone with no-one to care for them.

 

“Wow”

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Kassandra chuckled as they rode into the city, Phobos slowing down at her command and making his way slowly through the streets, Khloe turning her head every which way to try and look at everything as they went past. “Don’t strain your neck, we can walk around the city in a few day when you’ve settled in” she laughed, Khloe just nodding as she continued to look. Kassandra felt the girl tense up as Phobos began to walk up the stairs towards the upper level of the city but relaxed when she felt the woman behind her holding her safely.

With a cry, Ikaros launched himself off Phobos’ head, flying in the direction of the houses that they lived. Kassandra knew that if her mater saw him then he would be getting treats, which is what she was sure the bird was hoping for. She had two manipulative animals that was for sure.

Sure enough, she saw Ikaros sitting outside her mater’s house when she rode up on Phobos, a big fish held in the bird’s talons that she knew for a fact that he hadn’t caught on his own.

“Sneaky bird” she muttered to herself, dismounting Phobos and then reaching up to help Khloe off and putting her on the floor. The girl looked suddenly unsure again, looking around warily as she clung to Kassandra’s hands. The woman knew how scared the girl was, she had been in her situation before, but she had been helped and now she was going to help Khloe. “That is my mater’s house” she told the girl, crouching down next to her and pointing to the house that Ikaros was outside “She lives there with my..well the man who raised me for a time, my brother, and my adopted brother”

Khloe nodded, looking at Kassandra and giving her a smile which was returned, the woman pointing to the large house next door.

“And that is where I live with Brasidas and Phoibe, where you’re going to be living too”

“You mean that?”

“I told you didn’t I, when I asked you if you wanted to come and live with me” Kassandra nodded, stroking Khloe’s hair as the girl nodded too, holding the wooden horse close to her “Your mater would be very proud of you Khloe, you have done so well by yourself, but a child can’t grow up on their own”

“Thank you Kassandra”

Kassandra smiled as Khloe wrapped her arms around her neck, and the woman pulled her close and rubbed her back soothingly. She stayed there until Khloe moved away, standing up and holding the girl’s hand before walking through the courtyard in front of the houses towards her once, Ikaros looking up to watch them before going back to his meal. Stepping into the house, she wondered if Brasidas was in or if he was in the training grounds with some of his students, Phoibe she had seen on her way through the streets, the girl at the market dragging Alexios along through the stalls.

“Brasidas?”

She let Khloe’s hand go and the little one wandered around the larger living area that they were in, looking at everything in there as Kassandra made her way to the floor above them, smiling when she saw Brasidas coming out of their bedroom. His eyes lit up when he saw her and he walked over to embrace her, kissing his lover firmly on the mouth.

“I have missed you” Kassandra told him, playing with his hair as she kissed him again and pulled him close, his hands moving to her hips to keep her there.

“I missed you” Brasidas whispered against her lips, kissing her once more and then moving his head away slightly “It feels like you have been gone so long” he laughed, Kassandra chuckling and nodding.

“I doubt I will be leaving again any time soon, the waters are getting rough now, the bad season is coming. I think I spent half the voyage looking at the sea and the contents of my stomach”

Brasidas tried to stifle his laughter but it came out anyway and Kassandra rolled her eyes, poking his chest and moving away.

“The great Eagle Bearer gets sea sick”

“It’s not funny”

“It is a little bit”

Kassandra huffed, before motioning to the stairs when she remembered that Khloe was downstairs.

“We have another little one here, come and meet her”

She didn’t wait for Brasidas to respond, turning and making her way back downstairs and seeing Khloe sitting at the table playing with the horse.

“Khloe, how do you feel?”

“This is really your house? It’s so big”

Kassandra smiled and nodded, stroking her hair and motioning to Brasidas as he made his way into the room.

“This is Brasidas, who I told you about”

“Your husband?”

“Well, not quite, but you can call him that if you like” Kassandra nodded, not in the mood for explaining that they were lovers and what lovers were when they weren’t husband and wife. That was a story for when she was older. “Brasidas, this is Khloe”

“It’s nice to meet you” Brasidas told the little girl, crouching down next to where she was sitting and giving her a smile, happy when he got one in return “Kassandra has told me all about you already”

“She did?”

“Yes she did. She told me how brave you were”

Khloe grinned when she heard that, looking up at Kassandra who nodded at her, then back to Brasidas.

“I wanted to be brave like Kassandra, she went into the old mines”

“She did?” Brasidas asked with interest, sitting down properly as Khloe nodded quickly “Well Kassandra is the bravest person I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot of brave people”

Kassandra chuckled softly, stroking her hand over Brasidas’ head when she walked past him towards the kitchen, leaving the two of them to talk and get to know each other while she got Khloe some food. She knew that Phoibe and Khloe would get on well, of that she had no doubt, but she would leave it a day or two before she introduced the new girl to the rest of her family. Perhaps she would just invite her mater over before the rest of them.

Hearing Khloe laugh loudly from the other room made no doubt in Kassandra’s mind that this had been the right thing to do.


	6. Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kassandra gets injured during a trip with Brasidas

Kassandra hadn't seen the archer until it was too late, a grunt falling from her as the two arrows that hit her made her take a few steps back from the force that they had come into contact. She vaguely heard someone shouting her name as she looked down at her chest and stomach to see the arrows sticking through her armour. She blinked, her brain screaming at her to not pull them out as she reached for one of them with a bloody hand, grunting again as she snapped the shaft from one, the pain suddenly hitting her as the arrow head moved in her a little bit with the motion. She felt slightly sick, but she reached for her spear and effortlessly gutted one of the men who came at her with a mace, keeping her other hand against the arrow that still had the shaft on it, blood coating her hands as she tried to snap the shaft while she moved. The fear didn't hit her until she felt her legs give way, pain shooting up her left leg as she fell, looking down to see another arrow embedded there and blood covering her leg. How long had that been there? Her grip on the spear slipped when Kassandra fell to her knees on the dirt, hearing that same voice calling her name.  
Brasidas had lost friends in battle before, too many to count at this point but all had died with honor and were remembered that way. Seeing the archer aim at Kassandra had sent a shock of fear through him that he hadn't felt in such a long time, seeing the arrows hit her had combined that fear with anger and he didn't even remember moving towards the assailant, only knowing that his sword had pierced the armour and the man had dropped like a sack of stones at his feet. Others came at him and he was more than happy for them to come at him and not at Kassandra, trying to keep his mind on defeating these men and not on her. The last man lost his head, Brasidas hearing it land a few feet away after he had swung his sword so violently against his neck it had severed it completely. A few seconds of silence followed before he sheathed his sword and ran over to Kassandra, dropping to her side where she was leaning up against a rock and putting his hands on her neck to gently turned her head so she was looking at him, feeling himself shaking.  
“Kassandra?”  
The relief that flooded over him when she slowly opened her eyes to look at him made him feel slightly sick, but he pushed it away and quickly ripped the small cloak that Kassandra had over her shoulders.  
“Paid..paid good..fucking dr..achme for that”  
He couldn't help but laugh softly as he ripped it up and wrapped a large part of it around her leg, feeling Kassandra brace herself against the rock and sending a quick prayer to the gods before he quickly tightened it around the arrow head that was still in her leg. His stomach dropped the noise Kassandra made, a muffled sound that he never wanted to hear again as she bit down on her arm so hard he was sure there would be blood there.  
“I'm sorry” Brasidas whispered, wiping his hands on the rest of the rags and then wrapping them around her stomach and chest where the other arrow heads were buried, trying not to push onto the jagged edges of the shafts that Kassandra had broken off, he didn't want to push them in any further. He knew he had to get her to a physician as quickly as possible otherwise he would lose her.   
“Whist..le for..Phobos”  
“Phobos doesn't come for me, just you” Brasidas had to remind her, that horse was of another world he always thought.  
“Just..do it”  
Brasidas didn't have any time to argue, whistling loudly and looking back to Kassandra as Ikaros fluttered down with a loud cry, hopping around next to her. He opened his mouth to speak to the bird but hooves caught his attention and he turned his head to see Phobos running into view.  
“Good boy”  
He nodded at Kassandra's quiet words, no time to even think about where the horse had been as he gently picked Kassandra up into his arms, trying to ignore her muffled grunts of pain as he did so. There was a village a little way away but there wouldn't be a physician there, could he risk riding for longer and reaching Sparta? Phobos was a fast horse he knew, and Brasidas trusted his gut as he put Kassandra on his back and then climbed up as well, the horse standing as still as a stone while Ikaros flew around them.  
“Come on, to Sparta” Brasidas told the horse, wondering for a few seconds if he would obey him, he never obeyed anyone but Kassandra. A sigh of relief fell from him though when Phobos allowed him to turn around and began to move in the direction of Sparta, easily finding the nearest road. 

“What were you doing out there?”  
Brasidas rolled his eyes as he heard Alexios' voice, keeping his eyes on the bowl of warm water he was washing his hands and arms in, the cloth and water stained pink with the blood he was washing off his skin.  
“A group of bandits had been plaguing a village there, Kassandra heard word of it and went to sort it out”  
“And you?”  
“I went with her”  
“You distracted her, that's what you did”  
“Alexios”  
Myrrine's voice this time and Brasidas glanced over at her, seeing Alexios shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. Brasidas didn't take Alexios' words or tone to heart, he and Kassandra had become close since the fall of the Cult and the end of the war.   
“There was no reason for you to be with her, Kassandra always worked well on her own before..”  
“You think I don't know that?” Brasidas snapped, throwing the cloth on the side with a wet splat as he turned to face the other man, anger bubbling inside him “You think that I wasn't thinking of everything I might have done wrong before the fight as I rode with her in my arms all the way here imagining that she would die in my arms before I reached the city? That this is my fault?”  
“None of this is your fault”  
Brasidas kept his eyes on Alexios as Myrrine stepped between them, putting one hand on each of their chests and shaking her head.  
“None of this will help Kassandra”  
Alexios shook his head, walking out of the house and slamming the door behind him, silence ringing through the room for a few seconds before Myrrine spoke.  
“Forgive him, he's...”  
“No he's right, there was no reason for me to be there with her” Brasidas responded with a shake of his head, picking the cloth up again and returning to washing the dried blood from his arms “Kassandra has this way of working on her own and she seems to have perfected it, I didn't have to be there”  
“But she wanted you there, you know Kassandra, if she hadn't wanted you there then she would have said something”  
Brasidas nodded as Myrrine spoke, dropping the now pink cloth to the side of the bowl again and picking up the dry one to dry his hands and arms off. He opened his mouth to say something but the physician coming into the room cut him off.  
“How is she?”  
“She will live”  
Brasidas and Myrrine both let out noises of relief and the physician spared them both a smile as he nodded and continued to wipe his hands on a cloth as well.  
“She will need to rest”  
“Kassandra? Rest?”  
“She will have to unless she wants the stitches to open and for her to bleed to death before anyone can get to her”  
Brasidas and Myrrine glanced at each other and then nodded, knowing how serious the situation was.  
“She needs to rest for perhaps a week, she might need some help getting out of bed to relieve herself and wash as well, the arrow in her thigh was particularly deep so I had to cut deeply to get it out without causing a mess of her leg”  
“She will be able to walk properly again won't she? Climb?”  
“From the scars I've seen on her body this isn't the first time she's had some injuries like this. She'll be able to walk and climb just fine once they have healed, as long as she doesn't over do it in the first few weeks”  
He turned when his assistant entered the room as well, the woman handing him a basket of bloody cloths and instruments that Brasidas recognised from the medical tent at the camps he had been in during war. He knew the damage that a stray arrow could do if it hit the body at the correct area. Reaching into the pocket of his tunic he pulled out a handful of drachmae, putting them in the hand of the doctor.  
“Your payment”  
“This is more than...”  
“Your payment” he told the doctor more firmly, moving his hand away and refusing to take any of the money back from the man who had just saved the woman that he was in love with.  
“You have my thanks”

“I don't need help to relieve myself, I am not a child”  
“The physician said...”  
“I don't need help to relieve myself or wash myself” Kassandra interrupted again, unable to cross her arms because of the pain in her chest and stomach from the arrows, the pain relief that the physician had given her was wearing off and she was very well aware of what had happened. “I have had injuries that I've sewn up myself before in the middle of a camp in the forest, I am fine”  
“You are not fine Kassandra! I just had to carry you for miles with three arrows in you and you bleeding all over me and Phobos, do you have any idea how not fine you were then?”  
Brasidas hadn't meant to raise his voice like he had but the fear and the frustration of the last part of the day had got too much for him. Myrrine glanced at him from where she was standing next to the bed and then back to her daughter, stroking her hair which Kassandra didn't seem to mind, leaning her head into the touch.  
“It's okay to let people take care of you Kassandra”  
“I spent years looking after myself, I don't need anyone”  
Brasidas felt like it was him that had been stabbed in the chest when he heard that, his heart feeling like it was in his stomach. Is that what she really thought or was that just the frustration and pain talking.  
“Okay”  
He nodded as he spoke, taking a step back from the bed as Kassandra refused to look at him, staring out of the window instead. Brasidas looked to Myrrine who gave him a worried look in return, her hand still on Kassandra's hair.  
“If you need me I'll be out giving Phobos a clean”  
Brasidas turned and left the room without another word, making his way out of the house and into the courtyard in front where Phobos was standing eating from the bale of hay that was sitting there, Ikaros sitting on his back. The man was wary approaching the horse, but the stallion just stood there eating and let Brasidas take a hold of the reigns and pat his neck.  
“Come on, we'll get you cleaned of all that blood hmm?”  
Ikaros squawked, fluttering the short distance to sit on Brasidas' shoulders instead of Phobos' back, the man smiling at him and reaching up to stroke his head.  
“Kassandra will be fine, just you see”


	7. Thaletas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kassandra and Brasidas visit Mykanos and Brasidas meets Thaletas. A slight bit of jealousy happens

Brasidas was not naturally a jealous man, there had been little need to be jealous of much in his life. He had a good position in the Spartan army, he hadn't been married but he had women in his bed whenever he felt the need to, and he hadn't needed many possessions to be jealous of anyone with more than him. Seeing Kassandra talking so happily with that young Spartan that she had greeted so easily and happily when they had landed on Mykanos however made his stomach feel slightly odd. There had been a familiarity there that had been so easy between Kassandra and the other man that she had allowed him to embrace her like an old friend, and Brasidas could see that the man was looking at Kassandra the way that a lot of people looked at Kassandra. Like they wanted to either get on their knees and worship her or allow her to get on her knees and worship them.  
He crossed his arms over his chest, huffing slightly when the man reached out and put his hand on Kassandra's arm, it was no business of his who Kassandra was friends with or who any of her past lovers had been, of which she had informed him there had been a few male and female ones on her trip around Greece.  
“Brasidas”  
The Spartan soldier was brought of his thoughts by Kassandra's voice and he looked over to see her beckoning. He walked over to her, returning her warm smile and then looking to the man she had been speaking to.  
“Brasidas, this is Thaletas, he helped during the rebellion on the island. Thaletas, this is Brasidas”  
“I have heard many things about you” Thaletas informed Brasidas with a slight bow of his head “And all that you have done in aiding Sparta during the war”  
Brasidas hummed and nodded, trying not to think about how young the man was compared to him, probably much more suited to Kassandra as well.  
“You have my thanks, but I only did what any Spartan would have done, many more men died who have been honoured too”  
“And we shall see them again one day”  
Kassandra smiled at the both of them, glad that they seemed to be getting on at least, she knew what Spartan men were like, especially Spartan men in high positions in the military.   
“Kassandra was telling me that you train the young ones in Sparta now?”  
“She did?”  
Kassandra was surprised at the tone that Brasidas used, watching him cross his arms over his chest as he glanced at her and then back to Thaletas, raising an eyebrow.  
“Yes, it is an honor that I hope to achieve one day as well should I not fall in battle, to teach the next generation of Spartan warriors is an honor. I still remember the teachings of my own tutor back then and they have helped me greatly”  
The misthios chuckled and placed her hand on Brasidas' arm, before motioning to Thaletas with her other hand. She could feel the tension in her lover's arms and just his general pose and she didn't know why, Thaletas was no threat to him.   
“Of course Kassandra taught me a great deal during our time together as well”  
“Your time together?”  
“Yes, I had just lost a lot of men and my ship on my way here and I was stubborn and a fool. Myself and my men would have died had Kassandra and Kyra not talked me out of my plans”  
Brasidas hummed, looking to Kassandra who nodded and gripped his arm a little tighter before letting it go, she was clearly not in the mood for making any scenes.   
“Thaletas was just inviting us to the Spartan camp, his men are training and I agreed to help” Kassandra told her lover pointedly, perhaps being around other Spartan soldiers would ease him a little bit. She looked up when she heard Ikaros, smiling when the bird came to settle on her shoulder and she reached up to stroke his head and let him nibble gently on her fingers “Did you have a good flight, hmm?”  
Brasidas looked at Thaletas again, the younger man making no effort at all to hide the way that he was looking at Kassandra, like a young man thinking that he was in love with the woman he first slept with. He had seen the look countless times on people's faces when they had been talking or looking at Kassandra but this boy doing it made his skin crawl.   
“We will meet you at your camp, I trust Kassandra knows where it is”  
Thaletas nodded, smiling at Kassandra again and then looking to Brasidas, inclining his head in respect for him.  
“We are in the same place we were last time”  
Brasidas watched him leave, keeping his eyes on the boy as he did so. He knew that when they got to the camp that Kassandra would throw herself into training with the men, he on the other hand...he reached up and absent-mindedly rubbed his shoulder, arm useless for wielding a weapon against men and women trained to fight like he had been able to do.  
“What is your problem?”  
“Excuse me?”   
He looked back to Kassandra, Ikaros now sitting on a large rock grooming himself happily, his lover glaring a hole in his skull from the look on her face.  
“You looked like you were ready to kick him off the edge of the cliff” Kassandra told him loudly, motioning to the way that Thaletas had left and then to the cliff near them.  
Brasidas scoffed, shaking his head and turning to walk towards the clump of trees near them, if they were going to the Spartan camp they might as well go now.  
“Brasidas do not turn your back on me when I am trying to talk to you”  
He turned around at her voice, his lover marching towards him and poking him in the chest with her finger, anger all over her face.  
“He's a good man”  
“A man who was staring at you like he wouldn't have minded having his way with you right here on this cliff, or perhaps he already has”  
Kassandra scoffed, shaking her head and turning away from him slightly, running one hand over her hair. She couldn't believe the gall of Brasidas to say something like that.  
“What business is it of yours if I have had sex with him, hmm? None at all Brasidas”  
“I bet that boy doesn't even have any hair on his balls, who even put him in charge of a group of men?”   
A bitter laugh fell from Kassandra at his words, placing her hands on her hips and shaking her head. Of all the people that Brasidas could have been threatened by and it was Thaletas? Stupid stubborn Spartan men.  
“He is a friend” she told Brasidas slowly, making sure to sound out each word so they could penetrate that thick skull of his “Nothing more”  
“Well it looks like he wants there to be more, boy was almost drooling”  
“Do you have to be such a fucking dick? I can have male friends who I don't sleep with. Alkibiades! I am friends with that man and you don't bat an eyelid, but Thaletas dares to look at me and you're acting like this?”  
“Alkibiades is different”  
“He flirts with me at every opportunity”  
“He flirts with everyone at every opportunity, he flirts with your mater and Nikolaos as much as he can”  
“He...wait, what?”  
“If Alkibiades didn't flirt with you I would ask him if he was feeling okay and if he needed to visit a physician”  
Brasidas could see that Kassandra was still trying to work her way through the information that her friend flirts with her mater and the man who had raised her for a time, apparently it was a lot for her to take in.   
“I'll see you at this camp”  
“No you will not”  
He sighed loudly, turning back towards his lover and shaking his head at her as she advanced on him again.  
“What is your problem with Thaletas?”  
“I have no problem with the boy”  
“He's a man”  
“Is he?” Brasidas laughed and shook his head, glancing towards where the young man had walked and then back to Kassandra “He looked like a lad who had just lost his virginity to a prostitute and thought he was in love”  
Kassandra raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. She took a few seconds to reply, trying to not sound as angry as she was.  
“And he was looking at me, making me the prostitute?”  
“What? No, of course not...”  
“What is your fucking problem with him, Brasidas? You hardly know him”  
“Look at him Kassandra” Brasidas told her loudly, anger and annoyance lacing his voice as he waved his hands in the direction Thaletas had walked “Look at him, he's young, he's fit, he's...he's still able to fight proudly for Sparta”  
The last words came out quietly, his arms dropping to his side before he reached up to rub his forehead with one of them. He looked up quickly though when he felt Kassandra's hands in his, entwining their fingers with the one at his side and moving his other one away from his face.  
“You think that I am attracted to him because of that? That I am going to leave you for him?”  
“No, I...”  
“You have fought bravely for Sparta, my love” Kassandra whispered to him moving one hand to touch his shoulder gently “You have done for Sparta more than so many men before you and you deserve every single decoration that the king gave you for your duty”  
“Spartan die on the...”  
“If you had died on that battlefield I would have marched down to fight Hades himself and bring you back to me” Kassandra interrupted, pulling him in for a kiss that was so fierce that he thought their lips might be bruised.  
“I have no doubt that you would, you probably would have taken over as well”  
Kassandra couldn't help but laugh at that, resting their foreheads together and playing with the hair at the base of Brasidas' neck, closing her eyes for a few seconds. This man made her feel complete, like half of her had been missing her entire life and it was in him.  
“Dying on a battlefield does not make you any more of a man than someone who walks away from the battle alive” she whispered to him, her time travelling and growing up away from Sparta had shown her that there was more than one way to be considered a man or a woman “I will not raise any sons we may have so that they think that their self worth is counted in whether or not they die and come back to their mother or their wife or their lover as a corpse. Fuck what Sparta and Spartans say, my sons will be worth more than their blood”  
Brasidas smiled as she spoke, enjoying the way that she spoke about sons with a certainty that one day they would have them, and daughters too he hoped. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close and keeping their heads resting against each other. Had he not had this woman to wake up to, he would have gone straight back onto the battlefield and died out there, but the thought of Kassandra had kept him going through all the pain of the months after the battle and the war had ended. His love for this woman in his arms was what made everything worth it. The fact that she had fallen in love with him and chosen him made everything so much more worth it when she could have had the pick of any strong man or woman that she laid eyes on. Yet she was with him.  
They stayed like that for a little while longer, just enjoying each other's company with the sound of the waves lapping at the shore the only noise. Kassandra then lifted her head, kissing him softly on the lips and playing with his braid.   
“I love you”  
Brasidas' heart jumped in his chest and he couldn't stop the smile spreading over his face as he kissed her nose, and then her lips against, humming softly.  
“I love you. Now come, the boy will be wondering where we are”  
“Are you going to stop calling him that?”  
“Not at all”


End file.
